India signs pact with US to buy 10 C-17 airlifters

BANGALORE: New Delhi has signed an agreement with Washington to purchase 10 C-17 Globemaster-III transport aircraft, defence vendor Boeing announced on Wednesday.

The purchase, estimated at $4.1 billion, is the largest Indo-US defence deal so far, and comes barely two months after India ejected the two American combat fighters from its final shortlist for the $11-billion medium multi-role combat aircraft tender for the Indian Air Force.

According to the agreement, the delivery of aircrafts will be in 2013 and 2014, with India becoming the largest global customer of the C-17 Globemaster-III aircraft. The purchase is also expected to support 23,000 jobs in the United States, while more than 600 American firms are expected to benefit directly from the deal.

Earlier in the month, ET had reported that the purchase had been given the green light by the Cabinet Committee on Security — the apex body responsible for all major defence acquisitions.

The clearing of the deal will come as a relief to the US, after its highly fancied combat jets were ruled out of the MMRCA fray in April, in favour of the French-based Dassault Aviation's Rafale and the pan-European consortium-built Eurofighter Typhoon.

Boeing will provide support to the fleet through its C-17 Globemaster III Sustainment Partnership, a multi-national Performance-Based Logistics program, according to a company press release.

"Boeing is pleased that the Indian Air Force has selected the C-17 to support its airlift mission. We look forward to partnering with India as we move forward with the agreement's 30% offset program, which will help strengthen India's aerospace and defense capabilities," Mark Kronenberg, vice-president of International Business Development for Boeing Defence, Space & Security said.

The aircrafts are crucial for the IAF, which has been looking to bolster its strategic reach capabilities, as it seeks to mobilise a greater number of troops and military equipment along the Line of Control (LoC), which it shares with neighbour China.

The Chinese have been undertaking a massive buildup of military infrastructure, and the C-17 is expected to act as a force multiplier for the IAF, which has also been on the lookout to add to its heavy-lift aircraft fleet.

"Yes, we would like to have more C-130J and C-17 aircrafts. We will start with the statement of case soon," outgoing IAF chief PV Naik said.

The Globemaster-III deal has not been without its fair share of hiccups, especially after South Block demanded greater price clarity from the Pentagon after reports emerged that the aircraft had been sold to other countries at a substantially lower price.

However, Boeing Military Aircraft president Chris Chadwick had told ET in an exclusive interview that all complications relating to the Globemaster-III sale had been resolved,

According to recent agency reports, Boeing, in order to meet its offsets requirements, has set up a $500 million engine-testing wind tunnel for jet engines with the country's nodal defence lab, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).